New Shriners Children’s BRE features stamp-sized lighthouse, bird designs
Last week’s post office box check brought along a business reply envelope in a mailing from Shriners Children’s Hospitals.
The envelope has a pair of stamp-sized designs printed on it, one picturing a lighthouse and the other a blue bird sitting on a branch.
Shriners Children’s business reply envelope
This is hardly the first BRE from Shriners that I’ve received, but I’d not previously seen these particular designs. Never know when something new is going to show up in the mail!
Purgatory Post commemorates covered bridge, Bob Weir with new stamps
After a little bit of a hiatus from issuing new stamps, New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post was back with two new releases in January.
The first, a 27-sola stamp issued January 21, pictures the Haverhill-Bath Bridge that spans the Ammonoosuc River between Bath and Woodsville. The Haverhill-Bath Bridge is New Hampshire’s oldest covered bridge, and it’s just a few years away from its bicentennial; the bridge was built all the way back in 1829!
Purgatory Post Haverhill-Bath Bridge stamp
On January 31, Purgatory Post issued an 11-sola stamp commemorating Bob Weir (1947–2026), a founding member of and longtime guitarist for American rock band Grateful Dead. Weir died January 10 due to lung problems following a battle with cancer.
Purgatory Post Bob Weir stamp
It’s good to see Purgatory Post releasing new material again. Hopefully we’ll see plenty more from this local post in 2026!
Hey, I’ll admit it: the majority of the mailpieces that arrive in my post office box are what we refer to as “junk mail.” Such items must outnumber “stamp mail” by at least 10 to 1.
Those pieces of “stamp mail” can bring some really interesting items, though, and a card I received last week contained a strip of cinderella stamps celebrating the Year of the Horse.
Year of the Horse cinderella stamps
This stamp is the work of Donovan Beeson, whose name you might recognize from the former Letter Writers Alliance. Donovan creates artistamps of all sorts, and was kind enough to share with me.
Pandan Wood Islet releases two pairs of stamps picturing ancient woodlands
Although I’ve been involved in the local post scene for well over two decades creating my Philosateleian Post stamps, and collected stamps picturing natural landscapes for a long time, too, it’s always a treat when those two interests converge, and that’s the case with four stamps recently issued by England’s Pandan Wood Islet local post.
The 1st- and 2nd-class stamps issued September 11, 2025, feature woodland scenes.
Pandan Wood Islet 1st-Class Ancient Woodland Scenes stampsPandan Wood Islet 2nd-Class Ancient Woodland Scenes stamps
According to Wickford Community Archive, Pandan Wood was located on Gifford’s Farm near the Hamlet of Peasdown in Essex, England. The area was submerged in the 1950s by the creation of Hanningfield Reservoir.
Philosateleia 1s The Philosateleian first day cover
The Philosateleian stamp has some light scuffing on its left side, but I’ve seen much worse from USPS sorting equipment, so I can’t much complain about this.
The cover also received an official postmark dated January 26, the same day I mailed it. Sadly, the wavy lines part of the cancellation was omitted, which means the Boston 2026 stamp I used for postage is neither cancelled nor tied to cover, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
